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+---
+title: "Win98 Upgrade: Sound Blaster Audigy"
+date: '2020-11-24'
+subtitle: "From a Cheap PCI128 To EAX Advanced HD"
+tags:
+  - soundblaster
+  - win98
+  - retro
+categories:
+  - hardware
+bigimg: audigy.jpg
+---
+
+My initial [Windows 98SE retro PC build](/post/2020/10/building-an-athlon-win98-retro-pc) came with a free [Ensoniq AudioPCI](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_Blaster#Ensoniq_AudioPCI-based_cards) based card, a cheap 1998 OEAM alternative to the AWE64 or the Sound Blaster Live! line. The Sound Blaster PCI128 or _Vibra128_ is basically the same card, as it contains a Creative AudioPCI chip. The card is good enough if you're not picky, but it comes with a few major downsides:
+
+1. No external header pins for those cool looking `5.2"` audio drive bays;
+2. No EAX support for games;
+3. Horribly - just _horrible_ Sound Blaster 16 (SB16) DOS emulation;
+4. No digital audio out;
+5. Analog audio out is not that great.
+
+And since I bought a [Creative X-Fi](/post/2020/11/winxp-upgrade-sound-blaster-xfi) for my WinXP machine, I was in the mood for another Sound Blaster upgrade. The X-Fi is the last entry in the fifth generation of Creative SB PCI cards, of which the Audigy, PCI 512, Sound Blaster Live! and PCI 128 are also a part. In 1998, I actually used to own a variant of a SB Live! card, but the analog audio output port is of questionable quality (although I never noticed that as a kid). The main problem with going for subjective history-accuracy here is the sheer variability of quality on Live! cards, so hunting down the right `CT4830` or whatever version is challenging. 
+
+![](../audigy-vibra128.jpg "The Audigy next to its predecessor, the Sound Blaster Vibra128.")
+
+The eBay price range also dictated my decision to simply buy an Audigy (first edition) `SB0090` card instead - these cards are from 2001, which is still not too recent. At [VOGONS](https://vogons.org), the consensus for a Windows 98 build is an Audigy 2 ZS, which has updated DAC and op-amps to produce more than `108` dB and support surround 7.1. The ZS is not made to work with Win9x and I didn't want to overdo it, so I settled with a `SB0090` instead, costing a whopping `10 EUR`...
+
+So, what does Wikipedia have to say about this card? 
+
+> It has an `EMU10K2` chip, an updated version of the Live! `EMU10K1`, that supports EAX 3.0 Advanced HD and up to 5.1 channel output.
+
+The hardware can handle the mixing of 64 DirectSound3D channels, compared to only half (32) on the Live! cards. But I want to compare it to the Audio PCI or PCI128 card I threw out - well it's better than that successor. We're not going to learn much by looking at the numbers. Let's do some test recordings instead and let the results speak for themselves. 
+
+![](../audigy.jpg "The Sound Blaster Audigy SB0090 card with shiny IO ports.")
+
+### The EAX experience in games
+
+Installing the card was painless, except for removing the old Sound Blaster drivers, as the uninstaller crashed. Windows 98 is _very_ picky when it comes to swapping in and out pieces of hardware, so I was a bit worried there, and tried to manually cleanup the mess, with varying degrees of success. The Audigy installation CD ISO is available at [vogonsdrivers.com](http://vogonsdrivers.com), and after installing the DOSDRV and 1.12 patch, rebooting a few times because of the obligatory blue screen, I moved on to testing games.
+
+First up: _Dungeon Siege_. It has excellent EAX support that enhances the feeling of actually being in the Kingdom of Ehb - or at least in its many dungeons and caves filled with stuff to whack at. Listen to a short clip with EAX enabled on the new card:
+
+{{< video "/vid/ds-eax.mp4" >}}
+
+Now listen to the very same scene recorded with the Vibra128 card, which cannot do EAX:
+
+{{< audio "/audio/ds1_noeax_pcm128.mp3" >}}
+
+What should be immediately noticeable is the reflective, muffled sound coming from the EAX-enabled card because the party enters a cave. The bouncy sound of the squeaks of the valve , followed by the goblin fight that sound very, _very_ flat on the PCI128 card. Admittedly, Dungeon Siege likes to overdo this effect and it does get old every time you enter a huge cave (which is about half the game). It is clear that the difference is very audible and does affect my mood when playing a game: "immersiveness" of course is relevant.
+
+The Audigy install CD-ROM comes with a nice "mine demo" that showcases all different EAX effects (sound reflection etc). Phils Computer Lab has [more audio samples](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4SWsC86jZw) available at YouTube.
+
+Now, If you'd ask me what the difference is between playing Dungeon Siege with a Sound Blaster Audigy on Windows 98 or with an X-Fi on Windows XP, the answer I would give is _I don't know_. To be honest, that difference would be marginal - at least to my ears. 
+
+### SB16 and MPU-401 DOS emulation
+
+I'll be brief and resort to my _Rise of the Triad_ comparison again:
+
+#### Sound Blaster 16
+
+**The Reference**; an authentic SB16 on my [486 PC](/post/2020/09/486-upgrade-sound-blaster):
+
+{{< audio "/audio/ROTT_sb16.mp3" >}}
+
+**The PCI128 card**;
+
+{{< audio "/audio/ROTT_sb16_pcm128.mp3" >}}
+
+**The Audigy card**;
+
+{{< audio "/audio/ROTT_sb16_audigy.mp3" >}}
+
+What on earth is that PCI128 card doing? I have never heard anything that bad in a long time... So yeah, if being able to play older DOS games is of any importance to you, then I implore you to upgrade. SB16 emulation is clearly not one of its strong points. Just to be sure, let's listen to the classic _grabbag_ Duke Nukem 3D tune with the music configured to Sound Blaster:
+
+{{< audio "/audio/dn3d_sb16_pcm128.mp3" >}}
+
+That's just _sad_. Fortunately, the Audigy clearly knows how to handle the emulation, although it does not sound as clear as it should compared to the reference audio. The tones sound a bit harsh on the edges, but it's as good as it's going to get for OPL3 emulation. Unless one uses a ISA motherboard and slots in a proper Sound Blaster AWE64... 
+
+The Audigy to the rescue:
+
+{{< audio "/audio/dn3d_sb16_audigy.mp3" >}}
+
+#### MPU-401
+
+In the end, the _proper_ way to play Duke Nukem 3D is with General MIDI support (recorded with Audigy):
+
+{{< audio "/audio/dn3d_mpu_audigy.mp3" >}}
+
+![](../dn3d.jpg "Let's Rock!")
+
+A monumental difference compared to both SB16 variants! Now, let's compare the same _Rise of the Triad_ level 1 music again, this time by configuring `SNDSETUP.EXE` with "Wave Blaster" or "General MIDI" options (both are the same on emulated hardware).
+
+**The Reference**; an authentic SB16 on my [486 PC](/post/2020/09/486-upgrade-sound-blaster) with S2 Wavetable daughter board:
+
+{{< audio "/audio/ROTT_waveblaster.mp3" >}}
+
+**The PCI128 card**;
+
+{{< audio "/audio/ROTT_mpu_pcm128.mp3" >}}
+
+**The Audigy card**;
+
+{{< audio "/audio/ROTT_mpu_audigy.mp3" >}}
+
+Both cards are clearly different than the S2, but the S2 isn't exactly a genuine piece of general MIDI hardware, and I sadly do not own proper Roland audio hardware. However, when comparing PCI128 with Audigy, differences are suddenly much more subtle. To be honest, I can't really make out any when I listen on my laptop speakers. The difference is present when using high quality headphones, but either version is more than good enough for me. 
+
+### More toys to play with
+
+The Audigy supports proper Sound Font switching, you can mess around with the EAX effects on the desktop using a very annoying TaskBar, and there are a bunch of other goodies present - provided you wish to install those. A audio CD daemon, the PlayCenter, the AudioHQ configuration center, MIDI finetuning properties, Wave Studio to record stuff, and so forth. Software support of the Vibra128 card pales compared to this. 
+
+![](../audigytools.jpg "Look at all these 'creative' Creative tools, especially the taskbar!")
+
+Of course, in the end, it's the audio playback that matters, not the software tools that I barely touch anyway, although it is nice to be able to have the power to configure it all. In any case, I can conclude that this hardware upgrade again was worth the effort and I enjoyed a day of fiddling with it. Just be sure to never play SB16-enabled games on your PCI128!
+
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